Armed Robbers Jailed 200 Years

THREE ARMED robbers were last Monday slapped with a 200-year jail term by the Aflao Circuit Court presided over by Francis Obiri. The robbers are Kingsley John Okeke, a Nigerian who lived at Katanga in Togo, Harrison Komla Efiatukpey, a porter in Togo who lived with the first accused and Prosper Azaglo, an unemployed resident of Aflao Low Cost. They all pleaded not guilty. Giving his judgment after the case went for a full trial, the Judge quoted a biblical verse from Mathew 5:7 that “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy”, adding, “You did not have mercy on your victim, you wanted to kill him, so I will also not have mercy on you” and slapped them with a total of 200 years in jail with hard labour. Kingsley and Harrison were convicted for five years each on count one, conspiring to commit crime and 60 years each on count two, robbery- making a total of 65 years each. Prosper was given an additional five years on count four, causing harm, in addition to count one and two to make a total of 70 years. Their sentences would run concurrently. A fourth accused person, Victor Setorwufia, a mechanic who resides at Denu, was however acquitted and discharged on count three, abetment of crime, for lack of enough evidence against him. Briefing the court on the facts of the case, Detective Sergeant Stephen Awuni said the victim, who is a transport owner, went home on January 13, 2010 with a cash amount of GH¢9,800 and CFA 4,000,000. On the next day, the accused persons, with four others who are currently at large, wielding an AK 47 rifle, machetes and knives with some of them masked, entered the victim’s house by jumping the fence wall before opening his door with an iron bar. They pounced on the victim, held his neck on the ground, tied his arms and legs and subjected him to severe beatings, after which they inflicted machete and knife wounds on him before bolting with the GH¢9,800 and CFA 4,000,000. The prosecutor said police investigations indicated that the accused persons communicated with one another on their mobile phones before converging for the crime. After the robbery, the fourth accused person, who was driving a KIA bus with registration number GT 2297J to pick up the others from their hideouts, met a policeman on his way and picked him up. But when they got to hideouts of the miscreants, they took to their heels upon seeing the policeman in the vehicle. On February 15, the first and second accused persons were arrested from their hideouts in Togo and a search on them revealed an LG mobile phone which the victim identified as his. When the third accused person was arrested, a blood-stained shirt, machete, an iron cutter, a pair of army shots, a pair of hand gloves, a face mask, a car number plate (GR6435Y), a woolen hat, a jewelry set and a motorbike part were found in his room. The first and second accused, the prosecutor noted, admitted during police investigations that they received GH¢500 and CFA 100,000 each as their share of the booty but said their leader, Atsu, who is at large, only declared GH¢4000 and CFA 800,000. The police are making efforts to arrest Atsu and the rest of the accomplices.